Kryptic Minds – One Of Us [Swamp 81]

Even though this is their second album One Of Us seems like a debut, a fresh start, a new sound. After countless years producing D&B and gaining a reputation as being some of the biggest in the game they decided to change the game and get involved with dubstep. Many D&B producers have made the transition to the deep and dark side of dubstep with grate success, Breakage, Instra:mental and Martyn all spring to mind alongside so many others. So Kryptic Minds story may not be that out of place but the unique sound they are brining back to dubstep kind of is. They hooked up with DMZ heavy weight Loefah and his newborn label Swamp 81 and together they have really set a statement of intent. They are going right to the dark side, with dark as hell atmospheric half step a sound pretty much pioneered by Loefah and Youngsta back in the early days of dubstep and a sound that has been neglected a little in recent times. One Of Us is that statement.

A menacing intro apparently made up of field recordings of walking on gravel melts into ‘One Of Us’ which first appeared on a 12” earlier in the year with ‘Six Degrees’ on the flip. It’s a dark almost subtle track, I say almost as these tracks have a huge amount of power to them but its restrained. Bass pulses, half step beats with some of the nicest sounding intricately swung high hats around, they really build grooves with the high end of the percussive spectrum. What Kryptic Minds do best is atmosphere and all of these tracks ooze with it. They don’t vary the template at all and this really creates a dense journey with a singular vision that’s so well executed.

The drops on the slow-mo industrial tribal-like ‘Generation Dub’ are so big, when they want to pummel you with bass they really know how to. Some of this album reminds me of Distance’s Repercussions from last year, especially the more percussive numbers with the more restrained less gnarly bass lines. Kryptic Minds keep the buzz saw bass patches for their d’n’b and go for a darker sound. ‘Stepping Stone’ is another highlight, with Arabic samples and a low slung bass groove and crisp rolling hi-hats with dubby techno pulses slowly building. For some reason they remind me of the dark end of Unkle when they turned a bit prog at times, at times this is a bit of a put off and at others it’s not even on my mind.

The opening strings and pads, drenched in crackle on ‘Something To Nothing’ really draws a Burial comparison it’s some seriously wide-screen cinematic tension building, like a high budget ‘In McDonalds’. ‘Secure Lost’ is on a similar tip with dubbed out vocal snippets and loads of field sounds, there is even a slight garage beat to it, but in half step, so you get bursts and tension, bursts and bass pressure. A Reece-like ghostly bass even features in all its looming glory. The restrain really adds a mesmerising distopian atmosphere drenched in a longing sadness.

‘Chosen Few’ is maybe the most aggressive dance floor punisher; the grizzly bass rasps are built to shake up the place. Yet it’s still pretty restrained in its evilness. They show that you can be dark and aggressive without becoming a cartoon. The album gets a little brighter with the last two tracks, glints of light can be seen anyway, and the brighter elements shine through. ‘Organic’ has a similar feel to ‘Stepping Stone’ and the closing track ‘Distant Dawn’ even twinkles with a bit of dewdrop melody and like the name suggests, the sound of a breaking dawn. There is such a free flowing organic feel to this album, where a lot of dubstep sounds made for the city, I can’t help but feel a rural warmth, loneliness and darkness in this.

Swamp 81 is set to shake and meditate soundsystems around the world, with rumoured Burial & Loefah hook-ups and a 12” from Skream on the way it’s bound to get attention and rightly so. Kryptic Minds take on the half step sound on One Of Us is drenched in cinematic proportions of atmosphere, if you’ve been in a club and heard some of these tracks in the mix the jump out at you in a way others don’t, with a fully formed world attached to them. If this album has a companion this year it has to be Clubroot’s self titled debut on Low Dubs, they’re both singular visions with Clubroot rolling out a slightly lighter garage sound compared to Kryptic Minds. A lot of people get compared to Burial but this release really does echo his sound all be it minus the garage and haunted crackle, Kryptic Minds are a hell of a lot smoother, precise and spaced out but with a similar depth in production with layers of field recordings and melancholic atmosphere. Sometimes One Of Us feels a bit to tasteful or even a little boring but in the right frame of mind it’s an epic listen that creates a fully realised world of its own that subtly progresses from pure darkness to smidgens of light, I guess it depends on your mood.

Blackdown Interview & Mix

http://www.myspace.com/krypticminds1

http://www.myspace.com/swamp81

Kryptic Minds – 768 / Pinch & Moving Ninja – False Flags (Kryptic Minds Remix) [Tectonic]

Pinch is really brining the darkness with his labels most recent releases and this is no exception, here we get Kryptic Minds making their Tectonic debut after the very well received 12” for Loefah’s Swamp 81 label and the D’n’B producers are really making a name for themselves with their dubstep material along with the likes of Instra:mental and Breakage they have crossed over to create some of the deepest darkest sounds around.

The A-Side comes in the form of ‘768’ a new original track from Kryptic Minds and just like their other dubstep material it has that dark and spacious half stepping bass mediation vibe going on. These guys really know how to make the low end sing and this track really shows that off, you get the full bass spectrum from subterranean rumbles to a little added mid range growl, you know to keep things a bit evil. The string sections really give the track a dark almost emotional pull. If you find ‘One Of Us’ to be addictive then ‘768’ is going to be right up your street.

Kryptic Minds show us their take on Pinch & Moving Ninja’s deeply disturbing False Flag, which first featured on the fantastic Tectonic Plates Vol.2 compilation earlier this year. This remix takes that dark pent up atmosphere and makes it even more cinematic. The low end bubbles and drives the track into the underworld. The percussive elements on show in Kryptic Minds tracks are something else, they really know how to get a sound down and here is no acceptation the drums are warm, phat and woody. It’s a killer re-interpretation of an already killer track.

There is no holding back on this 12” Pinch knows where it’s at with the deep dark end of dubstep and Kryptic Minds prove that crossing over from d’n’b to make dubstep is pretty easy going, when your studio wizards with an ear for space and sound.

Originally written for Sonic Router.

http://www.myspace.com/krypticminds1

http://www.myspace.com/tectonicrecordings

Burial Collaborations

Burial has been quite ever since the mercury awards last year, well at least he hasn’t been in the public eye since then. But my god he has been busy where it counts most: in the studio if the rumours are right anyway.

First of all I read in an interview some time ago on ukhh with Flying Lotus where he mentioned after being asked about any Anglo-American collaborations he said, ‘I’ve also been working on something long term with Burial’ read it for your self here. This got my foaming at the mouth at the prospect, yet it was quite some time ago now and nothing has surfaced and there has hardly been a whisper since.

Then from the deep dark dance FWD>> comes news about people hearing a track that sounded like Burial from dBridge and low and behold confirmation comes from dubstepforum. Someone bumped into dBridge and he confirmed it.

There have been rumours a plenty for some time about Burial and D’n’B legend and Metalheadz owner Goldie hooking up but again nothing has surfaced and I once spent a good few hours locked into a sup-par Goldie hosted radio show on 1Xtra that promised a some sort of Burial action that never came.

Now for the real mouth watering part just a few weeks ago word came from a distributor that a Burial & Four Tet 12” was ready to drop at any moment. The tracks ‘Moth’ and ‘Wolf Cub’ are said to feature and I really don’t think any one but the lucky few have heard it, until clips appeared on Juno just yesterday. It sounds like business as usual from Burial but with a real tropical vibe and a four to the floor effort on the flip. I’m really not sure if it’s a collaboration or a split, but we will see next week.

Listen: Burial / Four Tet – Moth / Wolf Cub (Via Juno)


Then once again out of nowhere, well I say nowhere I mean Blackdown’s wicked Pitchfork column in an interview about Loefah’s new label Swamp 81 came word of Loe and Burial hooking up to remix Kryptic Minds for a 12” after the album drops.

I can almost hear these collaborations in my head when I think of the artists involved. Just imagine FlyLo’s organic flowing grooves playing off the sharp crackle of Burial’s ghostly garage or the D’n’B stylings of dBridge and Goldie bringing back the spirit of jungle together with a new pioneer. Then there is the subtle electronica of Four Tet with his crisp layers of atmospherics along side Burial’s vision. The deep half-stepping dark vision of Loefah with its massive bass and minimalist approach will be one hell of a juxtaposition to Burial’s riddims and Kryptic Minds vision of dubstep. Who knows when we will get to hear any of them mind but the mere speculation is pretty tantalising.

All pretty interesting stuff, and who says the mystery of Burial is now gone since the fuckers at The Sun ‘unmasked’ him. The music is doing the talking and that’s the way we like it.

http://www.myspace.com/burialuk

http://www.myspace.com/flyinglotus

http://www.myspace.com/exitrecords

http://www.myspace.com/metalheadzltd

http://www.myspace.com/fourtetkieranhebden

http://www.myspace.com/loefah

http://www.myspace.com/swamp81